When Having It All Isn’t Enough
The Son: Meeting Jesus through Luke • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Opening Comments:
Opening Comments:
Please journey with me in your copy of God’s Word to Luke 18:18-30. Page # 824 in our church provided Bibles.
We’ve been walking through Luke’s Gospel, watching Jesus reveal what true faith looks like as he journeys toward Jerusalem and ultimately the cross.
This morning’s passage comes immediately after Jesus welcomes the little children, declaring that the kingdom belongs to “such as these”. That event showed us that those who enter God’s kingdom have to come empty-handed and dependent on the Lord.
Now, we’re going to meet a man who approaches Jesus full-handed: wealthy, moral, and respected, and yet, he walks away from Jesus empty.
This is God’s authoritative Word, let’s read it together.
18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.”
29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Introduction:
Introduction:
Luke 18 serves as a masterclass on the differences between self-sufficiency and dependence.
It opens with a persistent widow who shows faith that refuses to give up because she depends on God’s Justice (v.1-8).
Next we meet a Pharisee and a tax collector demonstrate justification belongs not to those who boast but to those who bow humbly in repentance. (v.9-14)
Then parents bring their infants to Jesus, and He says, “To such belongs the kingdom of God.” (v.15-17) demonstrating that genuine faith trusts and receives.
Now Luke has brought us face-to-face with a ruler who seems to have everything that the world and religion can offer. He’s the kind of man everyone in that culture would have admired and respected. Yet, his encounter with Jesus shows that he lacked the one thing that truly mattered most.
Every scene in this chapter so far has built on the same contrast:
The humble depend on God; the self-reliant trust themselves.
And now this ruler comes to Jesus looking to achieve what he cannot earn.
In this moment, Jesus will peel back every layer of external success and reveal the danger of a heart that clings to self instead of surrendering to the savior. This man had everything the world celebrates, but, before Jesus, he discovers that having it all isn’t enough.
This morning we’ll observe:
The Wrong Question (v.18)
The Only Good God (v.19)
The Self-Righteous Deception (v.20-21)
The One Thing Lacking (v.22-25)
The Reward of Surrender (v.26-30)
By the end we’ll see that eternal life is free, but not cheap. It cost Jesus everything to purchase it, and it calls us to live in light of the gospel we’ve received.
1. The Wrong Question (v. 18)
1. The Wrong Question (v. 18)
18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
This ruler comes to Jesus (Mark 10:17 tells us he ran to Jesus and knelt before him) to ask a question that reveals he has a fundamental misunderstanding about entrance into God’s kingdom.
A.) “What must I do…?
This ruler was treating eternal life like it was a wage to be earned instead of a gift to be received.
His words summarize every man-made religion in the world: do more, work harder, earn it.
Notice the rest of the question:
B.) “…to inherit eternal life?”
In Jewish culture, inheritance (land, livestock, wealth) wasn’t earned; it was received through family lineage, from father to son. A person’s inheritance secured their future and was tied to their family’s name.
But Jesus is about to show him that the kingdom of God doesn’t work that way. You can inherit property, but you cannot inherit eternal life through family, tradition, or moral effort. It must come from God alone.
Paul tells us in Ephesians that the only way to inherit eternal life is to become a child of God by grace through faith.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Galatians 4:7 tells us that when we are redeemed by grace through faith that we are adopted into God’s family and given an inheritance as sons.
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
This ruler believed he could “do” his way into inheriting eternal life. But inheritance is never achieved, it’s bestowed by a father who adopts.
Application: Far too many think like this ruler. “I’ve tried to be good. I believe in God. I do my best.”
But you cannot earn your way into God’s family. You must be born again.
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
You must receive what only God’s grace can give . Eternal life is not a reward for the moral, it’s a gift for the repentant.
It’s not the payment of wages but the promise of sonship. You don’t add salvation to your life, you surrender to it.
2.) The Only Good God (v.19)
2.) The Only Good God (v.19)
19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
At first glance, that question is confusing and comes across like Jesus is denying His own goodness.
But He’s not deflecting; He’s diagnosing.
In Jewish thought, good was a term reserved for God. No rabbi was ever addressed that way.
Jesus is pressing the ruler on his words.
We could rephrase Jesus’ question this way: “Do you realize what you just said?”
If only God is good, and you call Me good, then either you’re careless with your words or you’ve just confessed My deity.
God’s goodness is not simply His kindness—it’s His absolute moral perfection.
5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
68 You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
God’s goodness defines goodness itself. He doesn’t meet the standard; He is the standard.
Romans 3:10 says,
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
Even our best intentions are tainted by sin. That’s why Jesus’ question matters so much. He’s forcing the ruler to decide: “If I am truly good, then I am God. And if I am God, will you follow Me?”
Application: Until we see the goodness of God, we will never understand the gravity of our sin or the wonder of God’s grace.
A small view of God always leads to a high view of self.
But when you behold the holiness of God, when you see His purity, His justice, His mercy, it shatters pride and creates worship.
Think of Isaiah 6. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he cried, “Woe is me! I am undone.”
Awareness of God’s goodness leads to repentance, not self-congratulation.
Our culture calls people “good” too lightly. “He’s a good man.” “She’s a good person.”
But apart from Christ, there is no goodness that satisfies God’s righteousness.
That’s why Jesus came, the perfectly good One dying for the hopelessly guilty.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Friend, when we believe, His goodness is counted as our goodness.
3.) The Self-Righteous Deception (v.20-21)
3.) The Self-Righteous Deception (v.20-21)
20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
Jesus meets the ruler on familiar ground, the Law. He recites the commandments dealing with our relationships to others, and the man confidently replies,
21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
Outwardly, maybe so. But inwardly? Not a chance.
The Law was never meant to make us proud; it was meant to make us desperate.
9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
The commandments of the law expose the heart, not justify it.
Jesus had already taught that hatred is murder in seed form, lust is adultery in the heart, and greed is theft in disguise (Matt 5:21–28).
This ruler hadn’t broken the letter of the Law, but he’s violated its spirit.
It’s like a polished silver chalice shining on the outside while mold grows inside. It looks impressive—until you see beneath the surface.
Self-righteousness blinds. It measures goodness by comparison instead of by God’s holiness.
It looks at others and says, “I’m doing better than them,” but it never looks to God and says, “Woe is me.”
The ruler knows the Law but not the Lawgiver. His obedience is outward conformity without inward love.
And Jesus is about to touch the nerve that reveals what he really worships.
4. The One Thing Lacking (vv. 22–25)
4. The One Thing Lacking (vv. 22–25)
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Jesus doesn’t hand this man one more box to check; He exposes the idol that owns him.
His problem wasn’t what he owned; it was what owned him.
In that day, wealth was more than comfort; it was identity. Property was passed from father to son, land was tied to family honor, and success was seen as divine favor. To give it all away would mean social disgrace and total dependence on God.
That’s exactly what Jesus calls him to—dependence.
23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
His sorrow reveals that he loves his possessions more than the one who provided them.
He wanted salvation but not surrender. He wanted heaven, but not a new heart.
Eternal life is free—but it isn’t cheap.
It cost Jesus everything—
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
and following Jesus will cost us our autonomy—
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
God doesn’t sell salvation; He gives it freely. But once received, it changes our ownership.
When Christ saves you, He claims you. You’re no longer your own.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
That’s not oppression—that’s freedom. Every other master takes; Jesus alone gives.
Then Jesus looks around and says,
24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus knows how wealth deceives us into being self-sufficient.
It lies to us by saying “You’ve got this. You don’t need help.” It promises control, but it quietly trains the soul to live without trust in God’s providence.
That’s why Jesus adds:
25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Picture the largest animal in Palestine and the smallest opening imaginable.
That’s the futility and impossibility of self-salvation. If salvation depended on us, no one would enter.
5. The Reward of Surrender (vv. 26–30)
5. The Reward of Surrender (vv. 26–30)
The crowd gasps,
26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
And Jesus answers with hope:
27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
That’s the gospel. We can’t pry open our own clenched hearts, but God can. He does what our moral effort and money never could.
Then Peter speaks up—not boasting, but longing for reassurance.
28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.”
You can almost hear the question beneath his statement:
“We did what he wouldn’t… does it matter?”
Jesus’ answer overflows with compassion and promise:
29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Jesus is not offering earthly riches in exchange for obedience but spiritual richness—Himself.
He’s promising:
Those who walk away from temporary security discover an eternal family.
Those who lose comfort for His sake gain joy this world can’t touch.
Those who surrender everything gain more than they ever lost — in this life and in the next.
This is the exchange the ruler never understood. He measured the cost, but he never counted the reward.
Application:
The ruler walked away grieving what he couldn’t keep. The disciples followed rejoicing in what they couldn’t lose. The difference wasn’t circumstance—it was trust.
Picture a child gripping a worthless trinket while her father holds out something priceless. She won’t open her hand — and she misses the gift. That’s the ruler. And often, that’s us.
Conclusion — The Lord of Life
Conclusion — The Lord of Life
This ruler came to the right Person, asked the right question, received the right answer, but made the wrong choice.
He wanted the gift of life without the Giver of life. He called Jesus “good” but refused to call Him “Lord.”
The gospel is clear: salvation is not self-improvement; it’s complete surrender.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For unbelievers: this passage is a warning and an invitation.
You can have morality, money, and respectability but still be lost.
You can admire Jesus and still walk away unchanged.
You can’t come to Christ holding the world in one hand and sin in the other.
Lay them down. What’s impossible with you is possible with God. He alone can forgive your sin, break your idols, and fill the emptiness when having it all isn’t enough.
For believers: this text calls us to live in light of the gospel we’ve received.
The grace that saved us now governs us.
The mercy that forgave us now transforms us.
Living in light of the gospel means surrender isn’t a one-time event—it’s the pattern of life.
It means we hold possessions loosely, serve joyfully, and depend daily.
It means we stop chasing what can never satisfy and start treasuring the One who always does.
The world measures success by what we gain; the gospel measures it by what we give up for Christ.
Because of Jesus, we no longer chase what fades; we cling to what lasts.
Because of Jesus, our identity isn’t in what we own, but in the One who purchased us.”
He is the Lord of Life, and He is worth everything.
When you have Him, you truly have it all.
Invitation
Invitation
Invite people to stand for a moment of meditation and invitation.
Father, You alone are good, and every good thing we have flows from Your hand.
Thank You that what was impossible for us You made possible through the death and resurrection of Your Son.
For any still trusting in their own goodness, draw them to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For those who know You, help us live in light of the gospel we’ve received—surrendered, generous, and wholly Yours.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
